Professors Create Scholarship to Honor the Late Charles M. Haar

A group of Miami Law professors in the Robert Traurig-Greenberg Traurig LL.M. in Real Property Development program have created the Charles M. Haar Award for Excellence in Planning and Zoning in memory of the late professor, who died on Jan. 10 at the age of 91. The award is given to a student who earns the highest grade in Adjunct Professor Brian Adler's Planning and Zoning course, and the recipient is designated as the Charles M. Haar Scholar in Planning and Zoning.

The first such recipient is Adam Bregman, an associate in the Real Estate practice group of the West Palm Beach firm McDonald Hopkins LLC.

"I am truly honored to have received this award named for Charles Haar and I greatly appreciate Professor Brian Adler for all that he has taught me," Bregman said.

Professor Haar, a pioneer in land-use law whose scholarship focused on the laws and institutions of city planning, urban development and environmental issues, influenced urban policy and planning throughout the country. He drafted key legislation for inner city revitalization, developed influential legal theories to support equality of services for urban dwellers and access to suburbs, and helped pioneer the modern environmental movement. At the time of his death, he was the Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law at Harvard University. At Miami Law, he served for many years as an adjunct professor in the Graduate Program in Real Property Development.

"A number of professors felt compelled not to let his passing go unnoticed by those who knew and loved him," said Douglas K. Bischoff, director of the Traurig LL.M. in Real Property Development. In addition to Bischoff and Adler, three adjunct professors helped fund the scholarship – Thomas F. Nealon III, Howard Shapiro and William P. Sklar.